Hi, all. I am a total noob here. First post ever. I really don't have a robot issue. I am not even into building robots. I just have a need for some help and I am sure you guys know the answers.

I am looking to activate a small vibrating motor remotely. Here are the criteria. The motor must be really small but powerful. i have found a few online but you guys may know of "the best" really small vibration motor. The components on the motor side must also be very small. This motor will likely be mounted inside of the casing of a wristwatch and everything must fit.

The controller need only have one button. on and off. The goal is going to be to be able to hve a small controller in my pocket and make the watch vibrate at will without the use of wires. SO the controller will be on my person and the watch wil be on my wreist. Any advice?

Simply awesome. And by awesome I mean, why the freak didn't I just google "remote controlled vibrator?"

But, in real life, I would like to know how that works without having to take apart a $60.00 pleaseure toy. Also, I am sure those bad boys use AA or AAA batteries which would be too big for the watch case.

For wireless, if you have line of sight between the tx and rx, IR communication would work and is very compact. Otherwise, RF woukd work but it takes up more space. But fitting it inside a watch woukd be tought.

Look at the TI chronos watch, it is a user programmable watch with RF built in, but no vibro motor

what he said was that ir is easier and smaller to implant into communication systems. ir has limitations, though, like short range and a thin signal width. so if you are fine controling the motor at a close distance, ir is the way to go. otherwise, radio frequency (the frequency for rc planes and radios) is your only choice.

ok, so the circuits we got here are pretty simple. the only parts we need are a flipflop, 38khz occilator, ir led w/ resistor in series if required. for the reciever we need a ir reciever and motor. the flipflop, when pushed, will turn on or off the occilator which will occilate (or turn off) the led. that will trigger the 38khz reciever which will turn on the motor. i would be glad to help with parts or diagrams when needed.

RC, I'm not here to learn how to automate my home. All I need is my watch to vibrate on command without a wire. Get it? If I needed help replacing a tile in my shower I would read bob vilas encyclopedia of home building.

Not only that. This isn't exactly easy stuff for regular people. If you were being harassed by s bully and you went to the brazillion jiu hits forum, I wouldn't tell you to go buy a video. I'd tell you how to choke him with his collar and then feed him grass in front of his woman. No need for you to go make yourself a lifelong disciple of jiu jitsu just for one problem.

Well, my point about the 50 dollar robot was that you could learn microcontrollers, which are what you would use in this kind of wireless setup. By doing the 50 dollar robot, you get the building blocks necessary for doing your project. And, the 50 dollar robot is meant for normal people! Thats the entire point of it, anyone can do it. Nobody cant explain microcontrollers and programming and circuitry in a forum post - which is why Admin created the 50 dollar robot tutorial.

So, if you want to build it yourself, do the 50 dollar robot. If you want to go premade, try here: http://www.rentron.com/PicBasic/RemoteControl.htmThe thing is, you cant buy RF receivers the size of a watch head. Which is why the best solution would be a IR receiver with a microcontroller, skills you would learn through the 50 dollar robot.

As you mentioned above, this kind of stuff isnt easy for the regular person.

This means that it takes a lot of time, effort and understanding to produce. What you are really asking is could 1 of you guys spend the next month investigating, designing and testing prototypes (at cost) to give me a final result that I can build on my own.

The answer is no. You need to do some work yourself, nobody minds helping if you are stuck on a particular problem but nobody is going use their time or money to solve your problem.

------------------EDIT

As much as I think that this is possible (look at how thin mobiles phones can be and also how small they can be) but they are made by companies with the money to have custome motors and custom receivers made for them. Although on the outset it is basic technology, trying to pack it into such a small space is in the cutting edge of technology and i think you might have your work cut out unless you are willing to spend LOTS of money on it.

There are some bulky wrist enclosures that you could buy though (This should be your first objecive to find an enclosure that you would be happy with). Im currently working on a project with these http://uk.farnell.com/okw-enclosures/b9002128/box-minitec-lava-green/dp/1539246, they are bulkier than an average wristwatch but a velcro strap makes them a perfect wrist mounted device and there is space inside for a circuit and other things.

Plus another thing is that if you want to activate the vibration from a device in your pocket then you dont have line of sight which means that IR or infrared is a no go, you will be needing a radio circuit.

I'm not really asking anyone to spend months on my project. It's a motor. A small one. Basically I'm just asking how to activate it remotely. In the grand scheme of things, I didn't really expect it to be as difficult as a few months, money and prototypes. I was thinking more like "will the things needed to run the motor fit into a watch?

Don't really see why you couldn't just tape one of the remote vibrators to a leg instead (or make a "belt" to hold it) - that would save you a bundle, but as long as I don't pay the bill... Or stuff it and mix business with pleasure

People with moderate to severe hearing losses have allready created a market for vibrating wrist watches (only a fair few of them with receiving capabilities though), so if you're willing to pony up the doe, take a look at this site (if you shop around, you will be able to get a somewhat lower prize, but medico electronics and the fringe area of devices will allways be expensive (since there is a very real need and that ups the price).

Let me assure you that you won't succeed in getting a receiver, a vibrating motor and a power source into an allready crammed wrist watch, not even if you threw $5000 after the project - there simply isn't room for extras in a regular wrist watch, so either go buy a very expensive one or tape the vibe to your leg - I assume you want it for magic tricks (or for cheating in high stake poker games).

Another solution that might be of interest: Phonak (and perhaps others these days, it's around 3..4 years old) makes a remote receiver (for people with ADHD and the like) the size of a very small hearing aid and then a matching transmitter is needed of course, but that way you don't need to interpret a eg. number of buzzes on your wrist, but can get messages in plain language (unheard by bystanders).Like anything in the hearing industry, expect it to be somewhat expensive.

Logged

Regards,Søren

A rather fast and fairly heavy robot with quite large wheels needs what? A lot of power?Please remember...Engineering is based on numbers - not adjectives

So, I sort of feel stupid but not. The watch does not have to work as a watch. It can be gutted for sure. I guess I should have made that clear. I said watch case but not empty watch case. Sorry. It just has to look like a watch on the outside.

And with that said, large watches are really fashionable right now. You could fit a refrigerator into some of these things.

ok, so the circuits we got here are pretty simple. the only parts we need are a flipflop, 38khz occilator, ir led w/ resistor in series if required. for the reciever we need a ir reciever and motor. the flipflop, when pushed, will turn on or off the occilator which will occilate (or turn off) the led. that will trigger the 38khz reciever which will turn on the motor. i would be glad to help with parts or diagrams when needed.

so what he's saying is that when the trigger (button or switch) is pressed or switched on, the ir LED (light) will turn on. The reciever in your watch will pick this up and your vibrator turns on.

So, what you'd need is a 2-battery series of AAs connecting to a resistor of (I believe I did this right) 70 ohms for your LED. Then on the recieving end, you'll need a reciever that behaves as a switch. Your battery (I have no idea what you'll use there) will be in a circuit with your reciever-switch and then your motor returning to the battery... And voilà! A vibrator that acts on command.

Looks like this kit will get it done IF the receiver and batteries willPower the motor I posted. I would have to modify the radio a lot though. All I need is a button to activate so no need for the controller but it looks like it'll work.